Head of Advocacy and Evidencing

Location: Global

Department: Global Impact

Reports to (Line Manager): Director of Global Impact

Responsible for ( Line managing): Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor, Social Protection Advisor, Health Advisor and Rights Advisor

Grade: UK Salary Grade F, GBP 65,000 or an equivalent depending on the cost of living in your location

Contract Type: Open-ended contract

About HelpAge

HelpAge International works with a diverse global network of around 200 Organisations across 99 countries to promote the rights of older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.

Through partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone as they get older. Our work is driven by our desire to achieve real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience.

About the Job

The Head of Advocacy & Evidencing plays a central role in driving HelpAge’s global influence by leading our advocacy, policy, and research agendas. This is a strategic leadership role focused on ensuring that our external engagement is grounded in rigorous evidence, shaped by the lived experiences of older people and aligned with our organisational priorities.

Working in close collaboration with HelpAge network members, older people’s organisations, and internal and external partners, the postholder will champion an inclusive and partner-led approach to advocacy that centres rights, equity, and local leadership. The role will ensure that advocacy and research efforts are coherent, ethical, and strategically designed to support both national and global influencing goals.

The Head of Advocacy & Evidencing will lead a multidisciplinary team and work across functions to integrate evidence and influencing into programme design, policy development, and external engagement. They will play a key role in cultivating partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, civil society organisations, and donors, while supporting older people and network members to influence the decisions that shape their lives.

Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Advocacy

• Lead the development and implementation of a cohesive global advocacy and evidencing strategy, aligned with HelpAge’s impact areas and co-created with network members.
• Monitor and respond to global and regional policy trends, identifying strategic opportunities for engagement and influence.
• Champion inclusive, partner-led advocacy approaches that centre the voices and leadership of older people and civil society actors.
• Collaborate with the Fundraising Director and supporting members to align donor advocacy efforts with organisational priorities and global influencing strategies.
• Support senior leadership and the Board with external engagement and positioning.

Evidence and Research

• Develop and oversee a coherent, ethical, and inclusive research agenda that strengthens the evidence base for HelpAge’s advocacy and programming.
• Foster partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, and research bodies to co-produce and validate robust, policy-influencing evidence.
• Ensure that research outputs are accessible, actionable, and designed for strategic influence at global and national levels.

Capacity Strengthening and Network Engagement

• Lead on advocacy capacity strengthening of HelpAge network members and older people through mentoring, training, and tailored support.
• Promote knowledge exchange and peer learning across the network, ensuring inclusive participation in advocacy platforms and decision-making spaces.
• Collaborate with regional colleagues to support the development and implementation of national and regional advocacy strategies led by network members.

Team and Resource Management

• Lead, manage, and coach a multidisciplinary team of advocacy advisors, ensuring high performance and alignment with organisational goals. These are hybrid roles, with approximately 50% of their time dedicated to global advocacy and the remaining 50% focused on technical support to members and contribution to programme development.
• Manage advocacy and research budgets effectively, ensuring compliance with donor requirements and strategic resource allocation.

Cross-Organisational Collaboration

• Work closely with Programme Support, Network, MEAL, Fundraising, and Communications teams to embed evidence and influencing in all areas of work.
• Coordinate joint advocacy and research initiatives that connect policy engagement with programme delivery and impact measurement.
• Represent HelpAge in key coalitions, alliances, and forums to promote the organisation’s priorities and strengthen external visibility.
• Oversee a globally connected and coherent portfolio of evidence generation, policy analysis, and advocacy initiatives across key impact areas (e.g., rights, health, humanitarian inclusion, social protection) —drawing on the network as a central source of evidence and insight.

Skills and experience required

Essential

• Proven strategic leadership in global advocacy, policy influencing, and research within the international development, humanitarian, or human rights sectors.
• Strong leadership, planning, and performance management skills, with a track record of delivering results through high-performing, diverse, and remote multidisciplinary teams.
• Deep understanding and practical application of rights-based, inclusive, and intersectional approaches—especially relating to age, gender, disability, and displacement.
• Demonstrated success in designing and implementing partner-led advocacy strategies that centre lived experience and community priorities.
• Experience influencing policy at national, regional, and international levels through coalition-building, stakeholder engagement, and strategic relationship management.
• Proven ability to translate evidence and lived experience into compelling advocacy and policy outputs (e.g., briefs, reports, toolkits) that drive systemic change.
• Strong analytical and research skills, with experience designing or overseeing ethical, participatory, and impact-oriented research.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain high-impact partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, and policy platforms.
• Experience working with and supporting civil society, networks, or grassroots movements, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
• In-depth understanding of global and regional policy environments, donor landscapes, and influencing mechanisms.
• Skilled in budget oversight and resource management, including accountability in donor-funded initiatives.
• Ability to monitor advocacy impact, policy trends, and funding landscapes, and to adapt strategies accordingly.
• Well-connected within international advocacy, policy, and media networks.
• Strong skills in capacity strengthening, mentoring, and supporting diverse stakeholders, including network members and communities.
• Lived experience of the Global South or extensive professional experience working in Global South contexts is essential.

Education and Qualifications

• Degree in international development, public policy, human rights, social sciences, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• A postgraduate qualification is an asset but not essential where practical experience is strong.

Other Requirements

• Willingness to travel internationally
• Ability to work across cultures, sectors, and geographies in inclusive and equitable ways.
• Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written); additional languages used in the Global South (e.g., Spanish, French, Arabic) are highly desirable.
• Deep commitment to locally led development and the principles of Partner- Led Programming.

Key Behavioural Competencies

• Working Collaboratively with Others. Work collaboratively, building mutual trust and respect, with external organizations and partners to achieve our strategic aims and objectives; being accountable for the work we do together.
• Adaptability and Flexibility. Adapt to new directions or opportunities arising within the organisation and in our work area; being flexible in our role, constantly using the feedback to learn more and evolve further.
• Supporting and Facilitating Change. Lead behavioural and cultural change through embracing a supportive, collaborative and highly inclusive environment where everybody feels supported, respected and engaged.
• Extend HelpAge’s Reach and Impact. Extend HelpAge’s reach and impact by creating and identifying new business development opportunities and building relationships with new partners.
• Diversity and Inclusion. Lead and promote a culture of including the voices of older people across our support, convening and thought leadership roles, in a way that is transformative, empowering and highly inclusive of those marginalised by gender, economic status, disability and other factors of discrimination.
• Leading Others (for managers). Demonstrate strong leadership to own unit/department and manage people in a well and reputable manner. Create an atmosphere of trust and an enabling environment where staff can contribute their best and develop their potential.

Safeguarding

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities with which we work, our partners, staff and any others who we come into contact with. The post holder will also be responsible for:

• Preventing harm and abuse from our people, operations and programmes to anyone that encounters our work.
• Reporting all safeguarding incidents you see, hear, hear about or suspect, using our internal reporting mechanism.
• Complying with all safeguarding framework policies and practices.
• Completing mandatory training courses relating to our safeguarding policy framework and complying with HR vetting procedures.

SAFER RECRUITMENT

All employments at HelpAge International will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include misconduct disclosure schemes and terrorism finance checks.

How to apply

Qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to review the details of the role and submit their Cover Letter and CV only to Jobs@helpage.orgnot later than Sunday, 19 October 2025.

Note: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis therefore early submission of application is highly encouraged. Applicants that had already submitted their applications are encouraged not to re-submit.